Photos To Make You Smile

A few weeks ago, we were on a return trip from visiting relatives, when our Rondo caught up with something unique.

A quick glance in the spy mirror, a built-in feature that grants parents a complete view of any devious behaviour that may be occuring in the cheap seats, revealed that even our nine-year-old had foresaken her tablet. She gazed out her window, mouth agape, at the spectacle.

Then, almost in unison, we began to laugh.

I offered the usual Dad Joke. “I guess that truck just needed one extra horse power.”

Naturally, everyone went hysterical at such a witty remark. 🙂

The horse even had a few groupies trailing behind.

But of course not everyone agreed with staring obsessively at their champion mare. Two opted to respect her privacy.

 

Only in Canada, would you find a horse, bull, cow, and moose, riding peacefully together along one of the country’s busiest highways.

 

Geese Rule! Cars . . . idle.

 

 

Blimp sighting in our backyard. The Prime Minister is on tour.

 

You must be at least six feet tall to take this ride.

Just Remember these life-changing nuggets.

Riding Dirty

Greetings from the Great White North, or what some of us call, Canada. This year, it has officially been renamed the Great Wet North.

Mother Nature has been generously running her shower, taps, and even the garden hose on this neck of the woods lately, so you can imagine things are a wee bit damp and muddy. We’re still not sure if this is an act of mischief, or simply an oversight while she’s busy coaching the mosquitos and deerflies on the upcoming harvest season.

This past May, in spite, or perhaps in defiance, of this phenomenon, myself and four other audacious souls embarked on a four day trek on some mechanical marvels known simply as four wheelers, or 4 Wheelers, if you wish to command the local lingo. These mini tanks carried us through some beautiful, rugged, and you got it, muddy trails, that were peppered with water holes.

Waves rolled where land once existed and rivers had grown too big for their banks. They gobbled real estate with a hunger matched only by the Tasmanian Devil. (Note: for the younger set, please google Tasmanian Devil cartoon)

No worries, this isn’t a wordy novella that will bore you with war stories of conquering the backwoods and taming fierce fauna. A nattering squirrel or two maybe, but ah, they only wanted our nuts.

We love our trailmix and will fend off any creature who tries to steal it.

Alright, enough babble, here are the pics along with a caption, or two.

 

On your marks . . . hey, where were the rest of you?

 

“Okay children, plug your needles and hold your sap, this island is sinking!”

 

When you’re (me) a rookie and you follow too close through a mud pit. 

 

Bath and bike wash time . . . so efficient. 

 

“Oh, I came from a good home but, you know, I got tired of hearing the boat bragging about all the places it’d been. I just had to see for myself. Who knew that you needed a motor and a rudder?”

 

Spooky old house. Does the ghost of Sam McGee reside here?

 

Nope, but there was a cool ancient stone fireplace.

 

Our trials were rewarded with views like this.

 

And this.

 

Yes, they ARE solar powered.

 

Hurray! We reached the summit of the “Unknown Rock!” Let’s plaque this sucker!

 

The peaceful end of a fun day. 

Oh, just ONE last thing. A free blog, or reblog post will be awarded to the FIRST reader who can tell me just what the heck this thing is? (found near the old house) Please Keep it clean, this is a family friendly site 🙂 . 

 

 

 

Donkey On the Road

Okay, so it’s been awhile since I have posted here, my apologies. Life happens and there have been a number of significant stressors that I will not divulge, nor bore you with here. Some of you may have noticed my absence on the various social media platforms I normally haunt. The point is, I’m back!

It’s hard to pass on the chance to relay several amusing, at least to me, recent events that have occurred while driving on the narrow dirt road on which our modest bungalow is nestled. Aside from being chuckle-inducing, I’ve come to realize they represent two polar opposite perspectives that anyone can choose when approaching life issues.

Last week, my progress along a road that intersects ours was impeded by a creature that I shall call by its more polite name  . . . a donkey. I shall use this name, even though it requires typing extra letters and causing further pain to my left index finger. This digit was “mortally” injured by a broken beer bottle while wrestling  it from a ditch. 🙂  Oh, the tasks we do to raise funds for our daughter’s upcoming Girl Guide camp. Yes, I normally wear gloves, but was feeling like a “lucky punk.”

Sorry, too much side story. Getting back to that donkey. He noticed me coming, saw that large beast of a car heading towards him . . . but did he move? Nope. Just gave me an annoyed look and continued chatting up the two lovely bovines who lined the fence. In fact, he even made sure to point the large body area, for which most of his kind are aptly named, directly at my hood. No doubt the ladies applauded their favourite rebel with ultra vigorous cud-chewing.

Donkeys are not stupid. They are well aware of danger and problems. Many farmers use them to protect their sheep from coyotes. He knew there was a problem, but he refused to run away and hide. He didn’t flee in abject hysterics,  just calmly assesssed the situation and enjoyed life in peace. He knew that problems are part of life and are best solved in a rational and orderly fashion. And so it came to pass. The farmer arrived and together we moved the fella back into the safety of his pasture.

Now, in another episode, I present the wild turkey. This creature reacted in a way that can best be described in pictures. Sorry, I didn’t have a camera with me at the time, so I did my best and am about to treat you to some hand-drawn (yes, I drew them) action scenes!

A few important points before we begin. The first is that the bird is drawn in purple crayon . . . just because, and purple was the only Crayola intact enough to use. It hadn’t been broken or melted into some crafty mosaic. The second, and most important, the turkey shown here is not a true representation of its actual size.

Also, please be aware, that at NO time did I try to run this bird over. I allowed it to ramble quite a distance ahead of  my vehicle. This was the only route to my home, so going another way was not an option. Yes, I could have parked the car and waited, and waited, and waited . . . approaching on foot, not advisable as these birds can be quite agressive.

The photos are simple, but should be easily decipherable. They are drawn from my view behind the windshield.

Scene One:

Notice the panic that invokes the prey-like pattern to avoid capture.

Scene Two:

After performing this pattern the length of a football field, the bird finds shelter in the tree line. Yup, he’s safe. All good. Right?

Scene Three:

Nope! Out it comes again! Its mind is a tornado of panic-driven confusion. All sense has left this bird and it delivers itself back into the path of the threat. This happened four times, before the thing realized it should just stay in the bush.

The same problem, but two different perspectives which led to two different reactions.

From now on, I’m going to be more like THAT Ass! (NOT an ass 🙂 )

#RRBC 2018 WC&BE SPONSORS BLOG HOP! Featuring Jan Sikes!

Please welcome my special guest today,  #RWISA Jan Sikes Author #RRBC

Blurb:

The epic love story begins here!
A hot Texas summer, dim-lit honky-tonk bars, a young naïve fledgling go-go dancer and a wild rebel Texas musician set the stage for this story.
1970 in Abilene, Texas finds young Darlina Flowers trying to figure out how to fit into the world she is most attracted to – the nightlife, live music and go-go dancing. Luke Stone, a veteran Texas Musician believes he’s lost all reason to care about his music career, his health and most especially his heart. A chance meeting with Darlina changes everything. But, is it too late? Has fate already determined the outcome? Join Luke and Darlina on a passion-filled journey up and down Texas roads while Luke and his band entertain crowds along the way.

Can Darlina Flowers ever hope to fit in to this strange new world and even more important, can she trust Luke Stone with her heart?

Luke Stone, a good man who has made a career of bad decisions, falls as completely in love with Darlina as she does with him. But is it too late?

Will their eternal unyielding love survive the test of time, distance and iron bars?

A bit about Jan:

An award winning author who was featured on a talk show Good Morning Texas , her talent extends to  music.

She calls North Texas home, where she loves spending time with her five incredible grandchildren.

 She is also a member of these organizations: The Texas Association of Authors, The Academy of Texas Music, Writer’s Guild, Non-Fiction Writer’s Association, National Association of Professional Women, International Women’s Leadership Association, Goodreads, Author’s Den, Texas Musicians Museum, Texas Authors Institute of History and DEAR Texas.

To learn more about Jan, or to purchase a copy, or copies, of her works, please visit these sites.

Amazon: Jan Sikes on Amazon

Website: www.jansikes.com

Twitter: @rijanjks

Follow the Tour at: #RRBC 2018 WRITERS’ CONFERENCE & BOOK EXPO SPONSOR BLOG HOP!

 

A Call To Mission Work. An Interview With Madison Wicklam.

Today I have the privilege of hosting Madison Wicklam. A few months ago, she embarked on a journey that would take her on a worldwide mission of mercy that was made possible by an organization called YWAM (Youth With A Mission). I have included a link to YWAM at the bottom of this blog, for those interested in learning more.

The experiences this young woman had were unforgettable. While serving others, she gained valuable personal growth and close friendships.

What places have you traveled to, and served in, while involved with YWAM? Which one was most memorable?

The first place on my long journey with YWAM was Las Vegas. The actual school part of my discipleship training school was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. While in this school, we were involved in a diverse community where we all grew closer to God and served Him there. Ministry in Las Vegas involved handing out self care packages and talking to and praying for women on the most popular prostitution “track” in Vegas, working with Nevada Child Seekers to bring missing, young women and men home and simply going to the most tourist populated areas to raise awareness about human trafficking. These are just some of the many ministry aspects that YWAM Las Vegas is involved with.

The one part of YWAM Las Vegas is that they have a mini outreach (mission trip) to Mexico halfway through their school. In Ensenada, we worked with boys and girls rehab centres, we delivered coats and prayer to women and men in the red light district of Tijuana, and we spent time at a migrant camp playing with children and encouraging the women who were in less than ideal circumstances.

On our two month outreach, we stayed in Kathmandu, Nepal for a month doing slum ministry, teaching English, dance bar ministry, cabin bar ministry, and lots of prayer/intercession over the city. For the second month, my team split up and my half of the team went to Thailand while our other half went to Uganda. In Thailand, we spent most of our time in a village where young girls are taken into the city of Bangkok to be put into slavery and being human trafficked. Our ministry consisted of loving on young kids and showing them that Jesus gives them hope. We also had the opportunity to minister to some of the young children’s parents which was very important in saving these children from being sent into turmoil. The most memorable place for me was Nepal. I fell in love with the children and all of the ministry we did with them. Their need for love was so apparent and me being a carrier of the love of the Father, I wanted to love on every single one of those precious children. Working with these children will always be my most memorable part of my outreach. They will always be in the back of my mind and I hope to go back to visit these kids who really changed my heart.

 

Any particular life-changing experience(s) you want to share?

Pretty much my entire time in Nepal was life changing. During our time there, I experienced God in so many new ways and I really had to rely on Him daily to get me through some pretty hard times there. Every morning we would go to the slums which was a small community of little shacks and tents right off of a busy highway. We took our team to a little shed and as the children saw us come in, they would join, and we would sing songs about Jesus, share a bible story, and teach English to them. In this group of kids there were about three or four girls around the age of twelve to fourteen that expressed they did not have parents. I do not know the circumstances in which caused them to have to raise their siblings, but my heart absolutely broke for these strong young women. They are also very much at risk for being taken out of this slum and put directly into a dance bar, cabin bar, or brothel where they will be sexually exploited for money.  In a situation like this it is hard to see God’s hand but He has surely protected them this far and I have so much faith that He will continue to shield them.  These girls really influenced me in how their lives were less than ideal but they found so much joy in praising God and taking care of their families. I really grew during these difficult days in Nepal as God significantly grew my faith in Him.  There were multiple times where I could have lost hope or been discouraged in a situation where He did not give me the answer I was makes all things work together for my good in HIS timing and not mine. Having Him reveal this to me, really made the rest of my outreach a lot easier and I completely leaned on Him when I felt overwhelmed or discouraged.

Why should other youth consider joining YWAM? Or become involved in the fight against human trafficking?

Other youth should consider joining YWAM for so many reasons.  The major reasons I can think of are to grow their relationship with Jesus, fight for a cause they are passionate about, learn more about the word and God’s calling on their life, travel the world, meet new people, get introduced to new cultures/ways of life, build life long friendships and set a fire in their own life to see their lives transformed. Through YWAM youth have an amazing opportunity to follow and work for a passion that they have including human trafficking. YWAM Las Vegas offers young people a chance to explore the harsh realities of human trafficking by bringing in special speakers who were once trafficked themselves, parents of trafficking victims, police officers working on the front lines and others in the community working tirelessly to prevent human trafficking. During the school, my team and I would go out into the most high risk areas for human trafficking to pray for women, hand out care packages and ask them some key questions in indicating if they are involved in human trafficking or not. This was a hard task but so rewarding when we were able to help out one of these young women.  I believe youth who have a passion for anti-human trafficking should definitely check out YWAM Las Vegas.

 Have you made lifetime friends?

I definitely have made lifelong friends. During the course of the discipleship training school I became very close with a lot of people. When living in community, being open and vulnerable with the people around you is necessary because during the course of the school, you go trough a lot personally and spiritually. It is essential to talk things through with people and the small community around you can understand what is going on and it makes it easy to confide in them. Living with the same group of people for 5 months has its ups and downs but it is definitely a life-changing experience and I believe it will better prepare me for life at post secondary and even for when I have my own family some day.

Has this experience influenced your career decision? 

This experience has influenced my career choice indefinitely. I never would have thought I would want to be the type of person to pursue missions but I can definitely see myself continuing with intercultural ministry. I am also hoping to continue in social work/human services at post secondary in attempts to eventually work with young women involved in human trafficking in a professional setting. My heart has broken for missions and helping victims of this modern day slavery so I am excited to see how God uses me in these areas. I am ready to go where He sends me and I know He has big plans for my walk with Him.

Madison Wicklam is an 18-year-old from a small town hoping to reach the nations.  She has a passion for children living in less than ideal situations and those enslaved by human trafficking. Madison has recently come back from a five-month missions trip that she describes as life changing.  She now thrives to spread the love of God that she has experienced so deeply in her own life.

Get Involved! Learn More at YWAM !